Blick v Franklin

Members
may recall the ACT Supreme Court decision in October 2014 involving
Michael Franklin and David Blick. The two men had been riding home
together in June 2009 in the cycle lane around State Circle adjacent to
the merging with traffic from Canberra Avenue. Mr Blick’s bicycle struck
a wooden tree stake (approx. 2 metres long by 38 millimetres square)
lying in the cycle lane. He lost control of his bike and fell off,
knocking Mr Franklin into the path of a car travelling in the left-hand
traffic lane just behind them. Mr Franklin sustained very serious
injuries. The judge found that Mr Blick had a duty to exercise
reasonable care to avoid causing injury to other road users (including
Mr Franklin, especially given their close proximity to the road), and
that Mr Blick had breached that duty by not keeping a proper lookout for
obstacles on the cycle lane (especially so, given the size of the piece
of wood and the lighting in the area), and that Mr Franklin’s injuries
flowed directly from that negligent failure to keep a proper lookout.
The judge considered whether Mr Franklin had contributed to his own
injuries by also not keeping a proper lookout. Given the relative
positions of the two riders, the judge decided that the evidence did not
allow him to find that Mr Franklin should have seen the piece of wood
had he been keeping a proper lookout. Mr Blick was therefore found to be
entirely responsible for Mr Franklin’s injuries and the judge awarded
damages amounting to $1.66m (plus Mr Franklin’s legal costs). (For those
interested, you can read the original decision on the Supreme Court’s
webpage atFranklin v Blick [2014] ACTSC 273.)

Last
year, Mr Blick appealed that decision in the ACT Supreme Court (Court
of Appeal). That court’s unanimous decision was handed down on 9th June
2016. In summary, Mr Blick’s appeal was dismissed on the basis that the
area where the crash occurred was well-lit by road lighting, car lights
and the riders’ own headlights, and that Mr Blick did not keep a proper
lookout for obstacles in the cycle lane, such as the wooden tree stake.
In the words of the court: “the evidence … suggests that if [Mr Blick]
had been exercising the kind of care that [his barrister] has conceded
was required [to detect minor debris such as glass, gravel and rocks] he
would have been able to [see and] avoid the wooden stake without risk
to [Mr Franklin].” The question of whether Mr Franklin had contributed
to his own injuries did not arise. (For those interested in the complete
decision, go toBlick v Franklin [2016] ACTCA 17.)

Fortunately, to say the least, Mr Blick was covered under his home and contents insurance policy.

This result for Mr Blick emphasises the importance to members of assessing their own insurance position,
not only in regard to personal injury, but also in regard to injury
that a member causes to another person, who may be with you in a group
ride, or riding home with you, or he/she may just be another rider whom
you are overtaking, or a pedestrian, or a child who has escaped parental
supervision, for example.

Unless
you have substantive experience and expertise in insurance matters,
please do not try to do this on your own - seek specialist advice on
your whole insurance position, including the scope of insurance provided
to club members through AVCC. The committee is currently working with
AVCC and the insurance broker on changes to the current policy that the
committee considers are necessary improvements. Members will be updated
from time to time as progress is made with the proposed changes.

But,
please also treat insurance as a risk management measure of last
resort. Taking the above case as an example, it is far better to avoid
the injuries in the first place - be vigilant and ride according to the
conditions - not just weather and lighting, but the presence (possibly
unexpected) of other people and vehicles on the cycle lane/path and
road.

Ian AlbreyVice President.

Alain Arbaut update

Some news on a good mate and vets club member Alain Arbaut.

Alain
had the misfortune of crashing heavily yesterday while racing on the
Stromlo critérium course during the CCC mini tour race. This was a hard
fall on collarbone corner.

Alain
didn't read the script though and didn't break his collarbone; instead
he broke his pelvis, many ribs and punctured lungs. He was in agony just
breathing while waiting for the ambulance and showed how strong he is
during that stressful time. He is now recovering in hospital and will
stay there until his lungs settles and he is able to walk.

I'm
sure you will all join me to wish Alain a good recovery in this
difficult time. Hopefully the French soccer team will step up and give
Alain something to cheer about in the next 4 weeks.